Remember when you voted to write property tax limits into the state constitution? Bet you didn’t know it would leave children without a ride to school.
But it’s another consequence of the growing property tax-cap shortfall. As lawmakers prepare for what looks to be the education session of the Indiana General Assembly, they should also prepare to explain what they will do to help students travel to and from school. Fort Wayne Community Schools is looking to reduce transportation services by nearly 20 percent, leaving 4,200 students off the bus next fall.
The district is hardly alone in struggling with transportation costs. Northwest Allen County Schools, a growing district, faces the challenge of transporting more students with fewer dollars available for bus service. At East Allen County Schools – geographically the 10th largest district in the state – a circuit-breaker loss of $296,931 is responsible for the current $249,082 deficit in the transportation fund.
Kirby Stahly, assistant superintendent of administrative services, said the district has covered the shortfall with money from its surplus. EACS also has cut costs by eliminating some shuttle bus services and consolidating bus stops.
“We can’t do it forever,” Stahly said of the stopgap measures.
Superintendent Chris Himsel said Northwest Allen’s transportation budget will likely survive through 2017, but without assistance, NACS will have to seek a referendum to raise taxes or suspend bus service. The latter requires three years’ notice, so legislative uncertainty creates more problems.
Countywide, tax-cap losses total nearly $41.8 million this year, according to figures from the Allen County auditor’s office. Statewide, more than 1.1 million Hoosiers voted for the tax caps in 2010; fewer than 450,000 voted no.